February 18, 2018 ~ Lenten Reflections (English & Espanol)

A few years ago, I visited a friend who lives in Salt Lake City, Utah. After about a day, we decided to take a road trip to visit another friend in Omaha, Nebraska. As we drove through Wyoming in his 1996 Grand Jeep Cherokee, on a 96 degree hot summer afternoon, we came to a long stretch of land between Wyoming and Nebraska that I can only describe as a desert. Before we left for this trip, my friend was confident that his old car was good to go, but as we drove through this desert, I heard my friend say to himself in a whisper: “I hope nothing happens to this car.” Hearing these words heightened my consciousness of how vulnerable we will be if anything happens to the car.

We learn from today’s gospel that Jesus spent forty days in the desert where he was not only vulnerable to nature but also experienced physical human weakness. He intentionally went into the desert in order to prepare himself for his public ministry. These 40 days of Lent offer us a desert experience opportunity where we can get in touch with and work on at least one human weakness.